As COVID-19 tally crosses 33 lakh mark in India, West Bengal extends lockdown till September 20 but with certain relaxations. By Tanvi Jain
West Bengal: Shops closed & streets deserted in Birbhum as state observes bi-weekly lockdown amid pandemic.
The state is observing complete lockdown for 2 days every week until end of Aug. There are 1,47,775 COVID cases in the state, as per the latest state health dept bulletin pic.twitter.com/ixileze5k8
— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2020
India after recording the biggest ever one-day spike of over 75,000 COVID-19 cases, has now crossed the 33 lakh mark. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the country has a total of 33,10,234 cases of Coronavirus, with at least 60,472 death cases, 25,23,771 recovered, and at least 7,25,991 active cases (as on August 27, 2020).
As far as the state tally is concerned, Maharashtra has topped the list with a total of 7,18,711 cases, out of which 1,73,195 are still active (as on August 27, 2020).
Meanwhile, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), over 3.8 crore samples have already been tested till August 26, 2020.
West Bengal: Police check vehicles amid bi-weekly #COVID19 lockdown in the state; visuals from Howrah Bridge.
The state is observing complete lockdown for 2 days every week until end of Aug. There're 1,47,775 COVID cases in the state, as per the latest state health dept bulletin pic.twitter.com/CpXMoy5TQI
— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2020
Moreover, in light of the rising Coronavirus cases, the West Bengal government has extended the ongoing partial lockdown in the state till September 20, including the closure of educational institutions, with a complete lockdown on September 7, 11 and 12 respectively, i.e. no flights will be allowed to operate to and from Kolkata on these dates.
“The state is observing complete lockdown for 2 days every week until the end of Aug. There are 1,47,775 COVID cases in the state, as per the latest state health dept bulletin,” ANI tweeted.
“Current lockdown measures to remain in place in the state till 20th September. Complete lockdown to be observed on 7th, 11th and 12th September,” it earlier quoted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as saying.
West Bengal: Bi-weekly lockdown being observed in the state to contain the spread of #COVID19; visuals from Siliguri.
The state government has ordered complete lockdown for two days every week till the end of August. pic.twitter.com/9gocdz3yz0
— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2020
However, she also announced certain relaxations such as the resumption of flights thrice a week from six COVID-19 hotspots i.e. Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai; one-fourth of suburban trains and full metro services with proper safety measures in place from September 1. She further demanded the Centre to distribute money collected in the PM-CARES Fund to various state so that they can utilise it in tackling the pandemic.
Furthermore, the state seems to be showing improvement in terms of recovery rate, as latest reports suggest a decline in the number of active cases for three consecutive days, thereby taking the discharge rate close to 80 per cent.
Related: West Bengal To Have 2 Days Of Complete Lockdown Every Week Starting Now!
